Does Medicare Have a Flex Card for Seniors?

Medicare advertisements are constantly flooding our screens. However, many of these ads can be confusing or misleading. So, we are here to clear the air about one product – the flex card for seniors on Medicare.

These cards, issued by private insurance companies, are only available on specific plans. Also, the cards have spending limits that vary by plan and carrier. The flex card benefit is not a common feature of Medicare Advantage plans, but you can find it in a handful of plans nationwide.

How to Use a Flex Card

Flex Cards are for use to cover qualifying medical expenses only. These include:

• Medical equipment
• Copayments and deductibles
• Prescription and OTC medications
• Dental, vision, and hearing care
• Diagnostic devices
• Other medically necessary expenses – check your plan details for a complete list

Truthfully, Medicare is not distributing flex cards for seniors. Thus, these cards are not part of the government-run program.

Private Medicare Advantage plans distribute the cards in these ads – not Original Medicare. So, many legitimate insurance companies offer this benefit. However, they all require beneficiaries to pick up their Medicare Advantage plans.

Again, Medicare Advantage plans do not typically include the flex card benefit. Although some major carriers offer plans with flex cards, they are not part of most available plans.

Flex Card for Seniors Advertisement Claims

The advertisements include claims that lead beneficiaries to believe they can receive a flex card with up to $2,880 from Medicare to spend as they choose. However, this is entirely not true.

While some carriers offer a flex card benefit, it is rare to receive such a large amount. The average flex card in 2022 is pre-loaded with $500.

Further, the ads tend to be unclear about which items are eligible for purchase with flex cards. According to one commercial, you can use the card for gas, groceries, new clothing, and shoes. While this could be true under rare circumstances, a licensed physician must deem these items medically necessary.

Medicare Flex Card Eligibility

Flex cards are an additional benefit to Medicare Advantage plans. So, to qualify, you must have a participating policy.
Not all Medicare Advantage plans participate in this program. In reality, a very small percentage of plans available nationwide offer this benefit. So, you must live in an area where at least one of these plans is available and sign up during a qualifying Medicare enrollment period.

Fortunately, Medicare Advantage plans do not require beneficiaries to answer underwriting health questions to enroll, so you will not face denial due to a pre-existing condition. However, to participate in a Medicare Advantage plan, you must be willing to abide by strict networks and higher out-of-pocket costs. So you will need to make sure your new plan’s network covers your physicians.

Flex cards are not available in every state or with every carrier. It is best to contact your insurer directly to inquire if your plan offers this benefit. You can also review your plan’s benefits on Medicare.gov.

Flex cards are not a necessary benefit of a Medicare Supplement plan because Medigap beneficiaries typically save on out-of-pocket costs compared to Medicare Advantage plans.

Often, Medicare Advantage plans have high maximum out-of-pocket costs. Companies offer additional benefits to make the policies more attractive to consumers by balancing these high costs. On the other hand, Medicare Supplement plans allow beneficiaries to save money while receiving the benefits they need to reduce Original Medicare costs.

Flex cards are only available with Medicare Advantage plans. So, below we compare the costs for the same medical bill through a Medicare Supplement Plan G and a typical Medicare Advantage HMO plan. Even with the flex card benefit, the Medicare Advantage HMO plan still produces higher out-of-pocket costs than the Medicare Supplement Plan G.